Honoring the Service and Sacrifice of Women in the Military

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Defense lifted the ban on female soldiers in combat. While there has been much debate on this issue in the media, we are compelled to point out the significant and ongoing contributions of women in the U.S. military.

Throughout our history, women from all walks of life, including many from our region, have answered the call of duty in every hour of our nation’s need. United by a love of country, belief in freedom and faith in America, women have never hesitated to put themselves in danger in defense of our way of life. In fact, more than 150 women gave their lives and more than 800 have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is high time, that their sacrifices be recognized and their courage honored.

More than 150 years ago, Dr. Mary Walker paved the way for women serving in today’s military. An early advocate for women’s rights and a medical school graduate, Walker attempted to join the Union Army as medical officer at the onset of the Civil War but was denied a commission as the Army at that time did not permit female officers. Undaunted, she volunteered anyway and served near the front lines at the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Battle of Chickamauga. She worked without pay, receiving only a tent and food for her service. In 1863 Walker broke the gender barrier and was officially appointed as the first female surgeon in the U.S. Army. Still, she did much more than tend to ill and injured troops. As Walker frequently crossed battle lines to tend to civilians caught in the crossfire, she also served as a spy for the Union Army. In 1864 she was arrested by Confederate troops and imprisoned in Richmond for four months until she was released in a prisoner exchange.

On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to present Walker the Medal of Honor. Yet, even that recognition did not go unchallenged. In 1917, the U.S. Congress revised eligibility standards for the medal and rescinded 911 names, including Walker’s, from the Medal of Honor Roll. Walker, however, stood firm and refused to return the medal, wearing it until her death in 1919. Finally, in 1977 President Jimmy Carter restored her medal posthumously and she remains the only woman to ever receive the nation’s highest military honor.

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Walker, however, was not alone. At about the same time she was volunteering as an army nurse, Rebecca Lane Pennypacker Price of Phoenixville organized the Union Relief Society of Phoenixville and assembled 100 local women to sew shirts, knit uniforms and gather non-perishable food items for the servicemen. Concerned that the items may not make it to those most in need, Price utilized social connections to obtain a pass from Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtain to personally accompany and distribute the relief shipment to the field hospital for the Army of the Potomac in Wind Mill Point, Virginia. Once there, Price took to cooking meals and assisting with the sick and wounded.

Though she had intended to stay only a week or two, Price could not bring herself to abandon the cause and soon travelled to work as a Civil War nurse in Union Army hospitals in Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore. During her travels, hotels would not admit her unless accompanied by a male, and she was forced to use rudimentary methods of lodging and travel. In 1863, she took a cattle car to Gettysburg in order to get to the battle as soon as possible and assist with the thousands of wounded. There Price took charge of a barn filled with the worst trauma cases and exposed a chaplain who had been hoarding supplies from the sick and wounded. She quickly won the respect of doctors and surgeons and was known to assist wherever she could, without concern for her own comfort or safety.

Both Walker and Price established a rich tradition of persistence, patriotism and empowerment for countless women in the military – a tradition that continued with the late Hazel Winifred Johnson-Brown of Malvern, who in 1977 broke the “brass ceiling,” becoming the first African-American woman to achieve the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army. When her application to a local school of nursing was rejected because she was African-American, Johnson-Brown, unfazed, moved to New York City and enrolled in the Harlem Hospital School of Nursing in 1947. She joined the Army in 1955 shortly after President Truman desegregated the armed services and rose swiftly through the ranks, holding positions throughout the nation, in Japan and South Korea during an illustrious military career that spanned three decades. As chief of the Army Nurse Corps, she commanded 7,000 male and female nurses in the Army National Guard and Army Reserves until her retirement in 1983.

All of these women and so many more have faced considerable challenges in the path to military service. In honor of all of those who have served out nation and the cause of freedom, we invite the public to join us to celebrate the installation of Dr. Mary E. Walker at the Medal of Honor Grove on the afternoon of Thursday, March 14.

For those not familiar with the Medal of Honor Grove, it is the nation’s oldest memorial site dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients. Located at the Freedoms Foundation’s headquarters just off Route 23 near Phoenixville, the 52-acre Grove is divided into one-acre plots for each state, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. Each plot features an obelisk and metal plaques set in the ground, honoring Medal of Honor recipients dating back to the Civil War. It is a unique place where nature and history come together in a moving tribute to our nation’s greatest heroes.

Our special guest speaker for the afternoon will be Master Sgt. Juanita Milligan, a U.S. Army veteran who knows all too well the realities of women serving on the front lines. In August 2005, Milligan was deployed in Iraq when her Humvee was struck by a road improvised explosive device. She sustained multiple life threatening injuries to the right side of her body. A single mother of two children and one foster child, Milligan wages a constant daily battle with her injuries and continues to strive to give back to veterans and those currently serving overseas.

For more information on the Medal of Honor Grove and the Mary Walker event, please visit www.friendsmohgrove.com

State Senator Andy Dinniman, of West Whiteland, represents Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Wally Nunn, of Newtown Square, is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove.

Melissa Farkouh, of Phoenixville, sits on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Medal of Honor Grove.